31 Days of Marichat
by deijnar
Summary: A collection of One-Shots about Chat Noir, Marinette and their feelings for each other.
1. Anger Relief

"Holy cow, Marinette did you hear what was going on just now?"

Grimacing Marinette held her phone away from her ear to avoid Alya's screams from deafening her.

"No I haven't but I'm certain you'll yell me every word in a second" she answered with an amused smile as she put her phone on speaker and kept drawing up the design she was currently working on.

"That's not a joke, Mari. There was an akuma and Chat Noir seemed quite determined to beat the crap out of them on his own" Alya explained in a serious tone.

Immediately Marinette's face went pale and she grabbed her phone to press it to the side of her head.

"What?!" she asked in disbelief and stood up, already heading towards her balcony.

"They hit him pretty bad, that's for sure" Alya stated rather impressed than worried and even changed to a seductive tone. "But he really did look as sexy as ever. You would have liked it" she teased her best friend who groaned and rolled her eyes despite her grave concern for her stupid, stupid partner.

"This word slipped out _once_ and it was months ago, why can't you let me life this down?" Marinette asked pleadingly, glad she could hide her worry behind frustration.

She could literally hear her best friend's grin through the phone.

"Oh girl, because that doesn't change the fact that it is perfectly true. You're crazy about that cat boy in leather" Alya responded and Marinette pursed her lips as an ashamed blush spreading over her cheeks found her guilty.

"I'm going to hang up now" she announced tersely, hardly trying to keep up her countenance. And again she could feel the self-righteous smirk at the other side of the call.

"Yeah, I'm sure there are already videos of him up on the internet. There's no time to lose."

"I hate you."

Sighing Marinette pressed the red button on her screen and hurried to the ladder leading to her bed. The moment she stood in the chilly evening air she spotted a well-known shadow approaching her but he didn't move as smoothly as normally.

No wonder after such a foolish act, she ranted internally but all her temper died down the moment Chat's face was in clear sight.

Okay, yes, he _may_ look pretty good and truly heroic in a state like this but her worries were much stronger than her ridiculous hero-crush.

"Hello Princess" Chat greeted her through clenched teeth and even his flirtatious smile couldn't hide the pain he was obviously in.

Firmly but careful Marinette grabbed his arm and dragged him into her room to place him on a chair. Guiltily silent he waited while she searched for the first aid kit she kept inside her room since Chat Noir had grown a habit of getting 'experimental' on patrol and asking for her help afterwards.

"Hey Princess, I-"

"You're such an idiot!" she cut him short as she turned around, cotton rounds and disinfectant in her hands. "What happened? And don't even try to convince me otherwise, I know that it was your fault."

For a second he wanted to disagree but he knew he had to acknowledge that she was utterly right.

"Well, yes. A little. But the miffed kitty cat was no match for your catsolutely pawsome furry tail Prince" he stated as he flexed his scratched biceps and wiggled his eyebrows while Marinette raised hers in annoyance.

"You've got claw marks all over your body" she noted deadpanned and started to dab off the blood streaming down his face, not caring for his sharp hisses.

"You're an acute observer, your highness" he answered tensed and in response she harshly poked his next wound, causing him to suck in his breath in pain again.

"But" he continued, letting her get away with her devious attack on him since he had to admit that he deserved it "you should see the other guy!"

"I assume they're perfectly fine and at home." Unimpressed she kept swabbing his wounds, barely holding in her anger.

Seriously, how could he be so calm and keep making dumb jokes? Some of those injuries were pretty deep or close to his eyes, he was more than lucky that nothing grave had happened. And she hadn't even inspected his leg yet but she'd seen him limping earlier.

Didn't he realize that she was truly worried? Couldn't he feel her uneasiness?

"Which means I did a purrfect job!" he pointed out, still not giving up his carefree charade. "You should be paw-roud of…"

"Cut the crap, Chat!" she finally exploded and banged the bottle of sanitizer down on her desk.

"Enough is enough. Stop acting like a child that doesn't understand what's going on. You could have gotten seriously hurt, gosh, you could have lost your eyesight there!" she yelled in frustration.

Taking a deep breath she tried to calm down by watching the clouds outside the window.

She couldn't face him for a moment.

"I know" he responded earnestly and looked up at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I just… I don't know. I have no excuse." He sighed and shook his head. "Like you said – I'm an idiot. And my puns get even worse when I'm nervous."

But Marinette was way too furious to let it go that easily.

No matter how cute and sorry he sounded, no matter that he seemed to sincerely regret his behavior. No matter what a strong impact his expressive and beautiful green eyes had on her emotional state.

"Why did you try to do this without Ladybug anyway?" she asked angrily and glared at those soulful eyes in front of her.

"Maybe it was a silly attempt to impress my special little Lady" Chat whispered and stood up, not tearing his eyes from hers.

She rolled them.

"Chat, you and Ladybug have been partners for, like what, five years now? I don't think you have to impress her." Annoyed she crossed her arms.

Imperturbably he took a step closer and Marinette froze due to the fact how close he was all of a sudden.

"What if I didn't mean Ladybug?" he asked under his breath with an unfamiliar craving in his deep and husky voice.

Her heart leapt into her throat and her breath hitched as he gently gripped her hips and pulled her close. All of her rage melted into thin air.

"Who… who do you mean then?" she breathed dazed, unable to avert her eyes from his irresistibly close lips.

Slightly chuckling he cupped her face and leaned in even closer, their faces only a hair's breadth apart.

"Oh Princess" he sighed affectionately as he closed the remained distance between them, fulfilling the strongest desire of both of them.

It was a tender, shy kiss and Chat held Marinette's face as if he was afraid he could crush it.

Still it felt like her heart kindled with a fiery passion that consumed her entire body. The world around them seemed to hold its breath and everything she could sense was his kiss.

He parted their lips way too soon to her taste.

But just as he wanted to lean back she woke from her paralyzing trance and longingly wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed herself against his body as she finally did what she'd dreamed of for so, so long.

Almost desperately she sealed his mouth with hers, felt his warmth, smelled his scent, tasted his lips.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. If these were tears of joy or relief or something entirely different she couldn't tell.

All she could tell was that she loved him.

She loved this dumb, silly, reckless man who held her with a strength that reassured her that he would always be there to uphold her. That he would cherish her, that he would make her happy, that he would love her.

Regardless of all his frivolous solo actions he would always be considerate when it came to her, to his Princess.

Driven by her yet suppressed emotions she buried one hand in his hair as the other hovered over his chest, his shoulders, his back, his neck.

There was too much of him too explore, too much she wanted to feel.

Eventually Chat took her hand and held it close to his heart, provoking another wave of heat flooding through her body, ending all her overanalyzing thoughts.

Overwhelmed she let her feelings take over and concentrated on the only things that mattered right now.

His body so very close to hers, his hands on her hips and his soft lips on hers.

But before it went too far she had to reluctantly let go of him.

A little breathless and heated they separated and Marinette looked up at him while he rested his head against her forehead with a beatific smile, his eyes still closed.

"You're injured" she eventually said breathlessly and he slowly opened his eyes to look at her with so much affection and happiness that her thoughts got blurry again and she nearly forgot what she wanted to say.

"Please stay the night."

Tilting his head aside he gently caressed her cheek, causing her to pleasantly close her fluttering eyes.

"Please."

"I was afraid you wouldn't want me to stay" he whispered into her ear as he lifted her up in his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck while she wrapped her legs around his waist.

After all she was the one deciding what counted as going too far.

And she wanted to be as close to him as laws of nature allowed.


	2. Bygone Teenage Crush

Overjoyed Marinette danced through her room.

She wanted to laugh, she wanted to share her happiness with everyone she'd ever met, she wanted to hug the whole world.

But for the time being the dorky superhero sitting on her chaise lounge had to do.

With an amused and fond smile he watched her turning on tiptoes and waving her hands through the air like they were wings. How could anyone be so cute yet elegant? Was she even real?

"Can I pick princess?" he asked all of a sudden as a long-term plan formed inside his head.

Immediately Marinette froze in her tracks and suspiciously turned to face him. "What?"

"Can I pick? Which offer you accept, I mean?"

"What? Chat – no" she answered and hurried towards him, taking her laptop away from him concerned that he'd do it anyway.

On its screen three e-mails from more or less prestigious design companies containing positive responses to her application were on view.

"Why not?" he pouted and slid aside so she could make herself comfortable next to him.

"Because" she explained patiently as she sat down "you have nothing to do with it and my decision doesn't affect you at all." With a roguish grin she poked the tip of his nose that looked out from under his mask.

Rude.

"Yes it does!" he disagreed vehemently. "I want to know where my Princess spends her days so I can make sure that she's save at all times."

"You can still do that if I choose and tell you afterwards" she responded amused.

Chat started to get a feeling that she didn't take him seriously at all.

Well, yes, he had his childish ways but when it came to watch out for his Princess he would never joke around.

And if Marinette was honest to herself she'd always loved it when he insisted that he had to protect her at all costs. Even though there was no need to, obviously.

"That's not the same!" he insisted huffily.

"It literally is" she laughed. "These are only invitations for job interviews anyway" she noted, still dazed with joy as she clicked through the messages over and over again as if she was afraid they'd disappear if she would look away for just one second.

"Oh and you think they would send you away after they'd met you in person? Im-paw-ssible."

Playfully she rolled her eyes at him.

Defensive he raised his hands. "Hey, you can't blame me for pointing out the truth!"

"Yeah, sure" she laughed while turning her head back to her laptop. The mails were still there, fortunately.

Carefully Chat cast a glance at whose invitation was shown on the screen currently and decided that he had to reach his goal differently if she wouldn't let him pick.

"That's a pretty great brand, isn't it?" he asked innocently, looking everywhere but at her face since he was afraid his nervous blush would give him away. "You should _definitely_ go there."

Raising an eyebrow Marinette looked up at him. "Gabriel? Seriously?" she asked and chuckled. "You want me to fall for my very first crush all over again?"

First Crush? At Gabriel's?

"Wh… What?" Bewildered Chat tensed and stared at her. Suddenly his thoughts seemed to slow down immensely and thinking became increasingly difficult to do.

She just said that, didn't she? Or did he mishear her words? That was a possibility, right?

Next to him Marinette sighed dreamily. "Ah yes, my good old teenage infatuation."

Nope, he'd heard her perfectly right.

Well, that was… unfortunate. Indescribably unfortunate. And weird. Oh god, this was so, so weird.

How was he supposed to look at her the same way he did before ever again? How should he act normally around her?

Of course Marinette recognized his change of behavior instantly.

"Aw, are you jealous?" she snorted and tilted up her head to kiss his cheek. "No worries kitty, I've been over Adrien Agreste for a long time now" she reassured him before turning her attention back to the blessed words in front of her.

Oh.

That took a load off his mind.

Relieved Chat let out the breath he'd been holding in. Thank god.

"Oh my, don't do that to me ever again" he clothed his ease in words.

"What?" she wanted to know with an amused smile without raising her eyes.

"Don't get mad at me…"

"I'm always mad at you" she threw in without hesitation.

"…but I thought you were indeed talking about Gabriel Agreste."

For a moment no one and nothing in the room made a sound.

"You WHAT?!" she screamed eventually and almost let her laptop plunk to the ground as she jumped to her feet.

Afraid Chat tried to shrink to provide a target as small as possible. Actually he hadn't expected such a strong reaction.

"You have to admit that one could easily take it that way!" desperately he tried to elude her anger. Unsuccessfully.

"Why are you like this? Never talk to me again" she complained with frustration but Chat suspected that she in fact had to suppress her laughter.

"Aw Princess, come on!" he whimpered and stood up, arms wide to embrace her.

"No."

With a raised finger she took a step away from him but he could see her shoulders and chest tremble a little.

Dramatically he fell to his knees and bowed his head. "Oh tell me, my precious Princess, how can I try to make this unforgettable faux pas up to the most perfect girl in the world?"

For a moment Marinette thought about this onetime chance and meanwhile enjoyed the view of an obsequious Chat.

"You go down to the bakery and get the most delicious pastries as a proper peace offering while I think about your punishment" she declared and pointed to her door.

"Nooo, my love, I don't want to leave you!" he whined but she stuck to her guns.

"Cut the sweet-talk and deliver your Princess actual sweets" she sniffed without looking at him, arms crossed.

"Please have mercy on me" he begged one last time, kissed her forehead and headed to the stairs since he knew there was no chance to soften his girl but with croissants and pains au lait.

Midway he had a little heart attack as he finally realized what it meant that she _hadn't_ meant his father earlier, turned on his heels and stormed back to Marinette's room.


	3. Masquerade Ball

"Princess, have you heard about the super fancy masquerade ball hosted by the one and only Gabriel Agreste?" Innocently Chat fiddled around with the ruffles of the dress Marinette was currently working on and didn't even look at her to seem as unsuspicious as possible.

Raising an eyebrow Marinette looked up from her sewing machine. "Don't be silly Chat, of course I have" she answered a little annoyed. "You know I have. I'm talking about nothing else for almost three weeks now."

Admonishingly she points at him. "See this ball gown? The one you're damaging right now? I'm working on it even though I know I'll never be part of this event or anything similar at any point in my near future."

She sighed and concentrated on the fabric in front of her again, scolding herself for being so stupid and childish to really feel the urge to cry.

Immediately Chat regretted that he hadn't raised the topic a little more sentient and wanted to embrace and comfort her right away but he knew that it wouldn't matter in a minute anyway.

"Well, what if I told you that it so happens that your silly Cat has been invited to said ball and can bring a +1?" he asked with a smirk but she wasn't looking at him. Instead she stared at the needle crushing down on the light pink, glittering fabric and bit her lip.

"Don't be so cruel to me" she whispered as her vision began to get blurry.

Feeling guilty and like a dumbass for making her sad Chat walked up to her. Gently he put his hand on her shoulder and kissed the top of her head while taking the invitation out of his pocket. Then he held the envelope it in front of her face by hugging her from behind.

For a very long moment Marinette just stared at the piece of paper Chat dangled in front of her.

She couldn't believe it. This couldn't be true, she couldn't be so lucky.

Yet there was the unmistakable emblem of _Gabriel's_ , glinting golden right in front of her eyes.

Marinette took a deep breath before letting out an excited, high-pitched, deafening squeal.

* * *

"I made the mask you asked me for but I don't think you should do this. What if I recognize you? What if someone else recognizes you? And you can't go there transformed either."

Downhearted Marinette laid the black mask she'd crafted for Chat aside and looked up at him. "It's too dangerous, we shouldn't do this. Even if it breaks my heart I think you should go with someone else…"

Compressing her lips and narrowing her eyebrows in sorrow she averted her gaze to not let him see how hard she was fighting back her tears.

But Chat walked up to her and placed his hand under her chin, making her look at him again.

"Don't be silly Marinette. I'd rather give you the invitation to go with someone else than going there without you."

Fondly he smiled while he caressed her cheek. A tender smile rose on Marinette's face as well, along with a slight blush. Suddenly Chat's expression turned stern.

"But I would never let any other man take my Princess out to a ball."

The next moment he instantly was all playful and goofy again, glossing over his unnecessary jealousy and possessiveness with a shrug and said: "So I guess you have to put up with me."

Relieved Marinette giggled, reached up and kissed his cheek. "I wouldn't want to go with any other person anyway."

* * *

The evening was absolutely wonderful.

Chat had picked her up at her door and they'd got to the location in a lovely, with flowers decorated cycle rickshaw. On their way many envious eyes had followed them but Marinette barely recognized them as she only had eyes for the handsome man by her side.

He really was out of costume.

He really presented himself to her in his civilian from.

It was thrilling. Everything that separated her from learning his true identity was that one black mask.

That stupid little mask she'd crafted herself, now letting her wish she'd never done it in the first place. She hadn't known how bad she wanted to know his identity up until now. The temptation was too strong.

When they arrived at their destination she'd already made up her mind that she would 'accidentally' rip it off his face at some point this night.

"… Princess?" Chat looked at her in concern as he held out his hand to her. Oh no, she hadn't paid attention to him at all.

"Oh, I am sorry! I was a little lost in thought" she laughed nervously as she took his hand and climbed out the rickshaw.

"Are you okay? What are you thinking about?" he asked worried and Marinette flushed.

She couldn't tell him she had been pondering on ways to get rid of the mask.

Fortunately they got interrupted by an official who politely asked for their invitation and leaded them to the ballroom.

As soon as Marinette set her foot in she forgot all the thoughts about masks and excuses about her clumsiness. All she could see were the enchanting lights, the bright colors of the glamorous evening gowns and the perfect decorations, all she could hear was the bewitching music of the orchestra and the happy chatting of the people around her. She felt as if she'd left her normal life and entered another world, a world full of beauty and magic.

Chat, on the other hand, didn't care for any of it. His concentration was fully owned by his Princess, by her delighted smile and her shining eyes, by her excitement and happiness.

There couldn't be anything, anyone, worthier of being looked at, of being loved.

"May I have this dance?" he whispered lovestruck and reached his hand out to her.

Sheepishly blushing she took it and smiled affectionately.

"I wouldn't want to dance with anyone else."

* * *

After the most wonderful minutes of his entire life and a few stolen kisses later they headed to the buffet to get something to drink. On their way a group of young women spotted them.

"Oh my god, is that Chat Noir?"

"Where?! I have to ask him to dance with me!"

Unaware about the fact that they were perfectly audible they sneaked nearer and Chat tensed. He didn't want this date with his Princess to be interrupted by anyone.

"See? I told you it was a bad idea to-" Marinette began complacently but got interrupted by one of the women's voices.

"Oh, nevermind, it's just some blonde-haired guys with a mask." She scoffed. "Is he purposely dressing up like Chat Noir? That's… embarrassing." The others laughed and they left as abruptly as they'd come.

For a second Chat's face darkened about their immature comments. But he lit up as soon as he saw Marinette's amused grimace as she tried to hold back her laughter.

It was simply impossible to be in a bad mood when he was with her.

"Honestly Princess, you should trust your Prince at least a little more" he pouted playfully. "You just witnessed my incredible Ninja-skills."

Laughing Marinette nodded sarcastically. "Sure!" she said and chuckled while Gabriel Agreste appeared behind her.

Chat stared at him in horror.

 _Oh no._

"Excuse me young lady", he said to Marinette who stared at him amazed "I wouldn't want to interrupt your encounter but I fear I have no alternative if I want to put your cavalier in his place."

Simultaneously their heads turned around and two pairs of eyes stared at Chat.

He wanted to disappear, to get out of this situation, even dying on the spot was better than _this_!

He didn't know who's gaze he wanted to avoid more so he decided to fix his own on a point between his father's reproachful and his girlfriend's baffled eyes. That way his father couldn't kill him with his glare and he also wouldn't have to witness the shock Marinette would definitely go through.

"My own flesh and blood surprises me yet again. What does this ridiculous costume portend? It is true that the invitation said 'masquerade ball' but that doesn't mean that I want my son to dress up as a cheap copy of Paris' superhero. You're not even wearing a designer piece, tell me, do you want to bring disgrace on my name? I seriously consider to not let you participate in any further of my events the upcoming year. Take it off and don something appropriate, Adrien."

After finishing with what he had to say his father turned on his heels without waiting for an answer, gave the completely bewildered Marinette a nod and left, unaware of the chaos he'd caused.

For a moment they just stood there, Chat looking at Marinette, fearfully awaiting her reaction as she stared to the point where Gabriel had been just seconds ago.

 _Please don't let her be too mad, please don't let her hate me, please let her forgive me._

Suddenly she burst out laughing.

It was a loud, lighthearted, genuine laugh and it didn't take long until a few tears streamed down Marinette's cheeks.

In disbelief Chat watched her as she tried to straighten up in order to be able to somehow communicate with him.

Was she laughing at him?!

"Ohmygodyoucanttellmeyoureallythoughtthiswasagoodidea" she chortled as she finally managed to walk up to him and laid her head on his shoulder, still shaken with laughter.

"You should have told me that I need to make a costume that is supposed to hide who you are _from your own father_ " she snorted while Adrien grimaced due to his suffering.

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked resignedly, fighting back the urge to put his arm around her. Damn, he even loved her with his entire being when she was mocking him.

"I mean we'll definitely have to talk about this" Marinette clarified as she dashed away her tears "but this is just too hilarious." Sighing she grinned at him. "You're an idiot."

Too relieved about the fact that she hadn't left yet and was willing to talk this out with him he put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "I am your idiot."

Fondly smiling Marinette reached up and carefully took the mask off his face, revealing her longtime crush from ten years ago. He was still outstandingly good looking and she still swooned over him.

"Yes you are" she whispered, put her arms around his neck and kissed him.


End file.
